Hernia mesh hurts
 

I know I got a great workout on my bike because I can feel the hernia mesh :lol: so I’m doing something right. I think I got enough fitness to cruise the GAP with relative ease so it will be an enjoyable ride/tour. I can’t wait.

I thought they stopped using mesh because it caused more problems than it fixed?

When I did the GAP starting in PGH it was a lot harder than I thought it would be. There was a pretty decent headwind the entire first day. By the time I made it to Connellsville (66 miles, IIRC) I was pretty knackered. Understand that I was fully loaded with camping and cooking gear since I was riding across PA. Second day was easier because I only went as far as Rockwood. From Rockwood to the divide I could really notice the grade, and there was more headwind. But the descent in Cumberland made it all worth it.

I've got the mesh. Done 19 years ago. I notice it periodically but not for the past several years.

Ben

Like you said you can feel the mesh at times the surgeon said that is normal and not to worry about it. I’m careful not to push it though. I miss deadlifting but I don’t miss surgery.

I went from Connellsville to Pittsburgh and it wasn’t too bad but I was ascending. The ride from Connellsville to Cumberland was great I also enjoyed coasting downhill to Cumberland. This time I’ll be camping in Ohiopyle so the first ride will be to Cumberland the next toward Pittsburgh. I’m going to spend some time doing other things to keep everyone happy.

I had mesh repair four years ago, and for sure I feel it from time to time. Usually it's a complete non-issue but there are times when it feels a bit uncomfortable.

If you can feel the mesh at all, the surgeon eff'ed up the job. I had a mesh installed 17 years ago and I've never once felt it. I'm just sayin'.....
Jon

I had bilateral hernia surgery one year ago today!
I've never felt anything down there on either side. I took a 1.5 hour walk two days after surgery and was back on the bike in three weeks.

I had the mesh done on both sides in different surgeries about a year apart.

i think I can feel a tearing sensation on the left groin at times.

I've got a pretty severe umbilical hernia that I need to have done. I've heard horror stories so it's good to hear several folks here saying it's mostly good. That's encouraging.


-Matt

I had bilateral inguinal hernia surgery 4/10/19 and carpal tunnel 4/5/19. I was back on bike 4/20, and 100% by 4/30.

I had an umbilical one done about 11years ago. A student surgeon did it; I couldn't resist the smile on her face. No problems since, but I go easy on the lifting. I also had a LH side hernia which I think, had mesh fitted in the old fashioned way, ie, a 4 inch cut. No problems either, and no scar. On this side of the pond, no bills either. :)

I had it done over a decade ago. I could feel it a lot more from time to time in the first five years or so. Rarely feel anything now. It was never really a problem though.

Interesting subject to me presently. Last Thanksgiving, doing some admittedly heavy yardwork, I suffered a classic stumble, over compensating attempt not to fall, then fall. Wound up with a badly pulled right groin and inguinal hernia. The groin healed pretty quick but this hernia, not so much. Did not really effect lifting things but by the end of a shift of ladder work and stretching overhead pulling on wrenches it felt like my belly was about to burst open. Pretty (expletive deleted) painful.

I got a referral to a specialist and after the exam he predicted that I could go five years until a surgical repair would be required. Provided I don't do anything stupid in the meantime, of course.

I think my inguinal canal is fairly stable now with no pain and I wear a prescribed hernia belt for anything remotely strenuous. However if I get any groin pain I immediately stop and reassess what I'm doing wrong. All this has had no adverse effect on my cycling by the way.

Hopefully by the time I need the repair they will have some new tech available besides stitching a piece of window screen in my groin. I already have enough titanium and cadaver bone in me.

The mesh has held up well for me. I had bilateral one big rip on the left and two smaller tears on the right. I suspect I had the two smaller tears for years. I had mine done with a robotic machine with the doctor controlling it like a video game :eek: but 2 surgical nurses stood by the robot closely at least that is what they said. I had to roll and crawl out of bed for a few days and use I chair to stand up but after I was upright I could move around. Recovery was fast but I’m not loading up 400+ pounds and deadlifting anymore that guy isn’t in his 20s anymore. However I want to return to some resistance training but nothing gut busting. After I get back from my GAP and Katy rides I going to start a weight routine where I can get some benefit without injuring myself.

Hernia Mesh Hurts
 

I just had a large abdominal hernia repaired a week ago; the recovery pain was bad the first 4 days but is now tapering off enough to get off the narcotics. I have been told I can't ride for 6 weeks which means I lose a lot of fitness. In the last 12 months I have had 3 comebacks to fitness after surgery but never get back to full fitness before the next surgery; this was my last surgery so away I go again. They told me I could sit on my trainer after two weeks and just spin with no load. I am wondering how long they forced the rest of you to stay off the bike and when you could do weight lifting again? So far I can't feel the mesh.

I was back riding regularly in about 6 weeks though I could have started earlier. I walked a lot at first just to get the blood flowing and speed up the healing. I didn’t rush anything.

I think I was something of an outlier, but my recovery from a large inguinal hernai repair was very slow. I couldn't ride for three months post surgery, though I began walking everywhere in place of the riding.

To this day I'm very careful when lifting anything and I don't do any weight training.

The sooner it's done, the smaller the cut and the sooner you get back to normal. Cannot understand why your doc said 5 years. Mine was large enough (I'd lifted my wife's mobility scooter regularly in and out of the car) but it was done within a year at the latest. I was treading on eggshells until it was done, but, like others here, it never impinged on my cycling. I was walking around the ward immediately after the op. The surgeon did a great job.

Hernia mesh hurts
 

I had a triple hernia repair 12 years ago. Last March, after upping my riding intensity, my left inguinal mesh tore and started causing pain. It took months to diagnose. My GP insisted it was a pulled muscle, give it six weeks, then give it more time. He is no longer my GP.

A surgeon finally diagnosed it. By that time you could feel the mesh through my abdomen. It had torn loose of its moorings and was rubbing against muscle and skin. I haven’t been able to ride since March. It gets painful after just a few minutes. Sex causes pain the next day, so I haven’t given that up.

Anyway, I see the surgeon tomorrow to set a date for removal and repair. He warned there could be complications with scar tissue. Of course waiting any longer will just create more scar tissue.

My advice to anyone considering hernia repair is to do it the way that worked for decades before mesh was invented. Tell the doc no mesh. It isn’t needed. Sutures are just fine. Sutures don’t shred inside you like a cheap screen door.

approx. 10 yrs ago Wifey had a mesh bladder sling installed. seems to be working as planned & no complications or discomfort. she dances, hikes & cycles ... I remember meeting with the surgeon & her shopping around for the best guy. wound up w/ someone in Boston with the best reputation for this procedure

I had an inguinal hernia repair done with mesh 14 years ago. The doc told me to use pain as my guide in regards to lifting weights and I was able to get back to full intensity within a few months (I was powerlifting at this time). I squatted over 500 and deadlifted 600 a couple years after the surgery so I think it worked and the mesh has been fine. That said, I would follow what a good surgeon says if I were to need another, similar, surgery and in deciding on mesh or not.

I had an inguinal hernia repaired last week. It appeared in the beginning of the season, and I opted to wait until now. Had one 50 or so years ago as a kid on the other side. Recovery is going smoothly and I didn't need a lot of pain meds, I'd say that now I'm 2-3 on the discomfort scale. Saw the doc today, he's pleased but wants me to wait a month before I try cycling - most likely on a trainer. Hopefully the mesh won't give me any problems over time. A colleague at work had a double done some years back and he has no issues.

I had a mesh repair two years ago.
The pain right after surgery, between the anaesthetic wearing off and the oral painkillers kicking in was really, really bad. As in cold sweats, shallow breathing, pale and shaking bad. It seems like I metabolize pain med faster than average. Lower doses but more often works better for me.
Once I gotten that dialed in, most of everyday life could resume.
I think I was off the bike for about a month - doctor’s orders.
The mesh didn’t interfere with riding, but it kept troubling me for about 3 months. The area was tender and a bit swollen.
If you think of having a wallet in a frontside pocket of some tight jeans, now imagine that wallet stuck under your skin.
Went back to the doc who prescribed some anti-inflammatories, after which it eventually settled down.
I still feel the mesh from time to time. Usually associated with more-than-average walking, cross-country skiing and some yoga poses.
Not a problem, more of a slightly unsettling reminder of another injury.

I had double inguinal surgery about ten years ago. I was back to most things within three months but to be honest....I could "feel" twinges and what felt like tearings for over a year. I'd say the occasional pain that really concerned me disappeared at almost a year and then after year two I forgot I even had the surgery. However, my doctor was a dope, who got fired from his practice less than six months later and who told me two weeks before my surgery that he was disenchanted with the medical profession. I should have bailed at that point but I didn't know about his baggage that helped get him fired until later. I do remember the drugs being quite nice though. :)